what proof was whiskey in the 1800s

It is estimated that, although relatively little wine or beer was poured during Prohibition, consumption of the hard stuff actually increased by more than 15 percent per person. Why gin? By the turn of the century, total abstinence was the goal. These guys meant business. Two bottles were sold in Glasgow in 2010, one to a US-based collector and one to a UK-based investor. The company had $100,000 in capital and bought 100 acres of Louisville land where they built a huge distillery. According to Gerald Carson in his book, The Social History of Bourbon, since the Northern soldiers had more money than their adversaries, they could buy more whiskey. By the early 1940s, however, the distillers had managed to age sufficient quantities of straight whiskey to have an appreciable amount of good, aged bourbon and rye back on the shelves. Felix graf von Luckner, a visitor to America during Prohibition, painted a marvelous scene of the effects of the experiment in his book, Seeteuful erebert America, 1928: Prohibition has created a new, universally respected, a well-beloved, and a very profitable occupation, that of the bootlegger who takes care of the importation of the forbidden liquor. Not all farmers had stills, mind you, since stills were very expensive pieces of equipment. Just over two years later, on January 17, 1920, after the Volstead Act that enabled the National Prohibition Law, had been passed by 287 votes to 100, the nation was officially dry. alcohol. Trade was brisk for the mail-order whiskey suppliers, but dont think for a second that the Prohibitionists were going to stand idly by while thousands of gallons of whiskey were being mailed to their hard-fought-for dry states and counties. Oscar Pepper (James E. Pepper and Old Crow Bourbons) built the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery in 1838. In 1830 fewer than 50 miles of railway tracks existed in the United States; 10 years later there were almost 3,000 miles of railroad, and by 1850 you could travel over 9,000 miles on steam-engine trains. The Prohibition movement began in the early 1800s based on noble ideas such as . By 1934, his company owned the George T. Stagg Distillery (Ancient Age) and the James E. Pepper Distillery (James E. Pepper whiskey) among others. The scene and the amounts are merely hypothetical, but it gives you a rough idea of why the farmers had empty pockets. In 1935, a group of investors opened the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown. Some of them filtered the whiskey they purchased in bulk in order to rectify it, taking out some impurities and rendering the whiskey somewhat smoother. Meanwhile, Seagram introduced its Five Crown and Seven Crown blended whiskeys to the American public, and they were an unmitigated success. And although it is possible that some early settlers built their own from imported raw materials, most were probably imported from Europe. Follow the American Whiskey Trail and the Distilled Spirits Council on Facebook! In Europe, the Great War broke out in 1914, and although President Woodrow Wilson initially declared that the country would remain neutral, on April 6, 1917, the U.S. declared war on Germany. However, some documents had been discovered that pointed to reasons other than friendship for Grants change of heart. Whiskey at the Close of the Twentieth Century. But still, these early Americans werent content. *The Civil War toe the whiskey-making states apart. Many of the larger distilleries built massive continuous stills between 1865 and 1900; whiskey was becoming big business, and continuous stills were more economical. The distillery operated for a few years, but Hope was shattered and forced to close when all of the capital was spent. A lot of people were out to make a fast buck, and the quality of whiskey for sale was deteriorating. The Confederate troops, on the other hand, didnt get their fair share of whiskey, not only due to their lack of hard cash, but also because the South couldnt afford to use what valuable grain there was to make such frivolous stuff as whiskey; people were wanting of the basic necessities just to exist. Tastes had changed, and blended whiskeys had become increasingly popular. We dont know how much rum remained when they landed in Africa, but the cargo was traded on the Gold Coast, and the ship headed for Barbados laden with 56 African slaves, 40 ounces of gold, and 900 pounds of peppercorns. When the Pennsylvanians arrived in Kentucky, they were met by other masters of the still who had preceded them by a couple of decades and started some new whiskey-making traditions. The average bottle of whiskey is around 40 proof. In New York, when a law was passed that made it illegal to sell drinks on Sunday except when they were accompanied by a meal, many hotels took to placing a sandwich on each table. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. But with the proliferation of whiskey, it's not hard to find bottles that push those . When they arrived, they needed whiskey, and distillers rushed to meet the demand. W. L. Weller (W. L. Weller Bourbon), whose grandfather, Daniel, had owned a distillery in 1800, formed a wholesale whiskey business in 1849, using the slogan "Honest whiskey at an honest price.". George Ade, author of The Old Time Saloon, noted that, in Chicago, once a saloon keeper got his license, he would throw the key to his bar into Lake Michigan so that his doors could never again be locked. Interestingly enough, cider-makers who didnt possess a still would, during the winter months, leave cider outside to freeze. The bonding period was increased to three years in 1879, and in 1894, after the nation had just suffered a massive depression known as The Panic of 1893, it was increased again, this time to eight years. Was this Whiskeygate? However, there was yet a third group of so-called rectifiers who had an eye on a fast buck. It was partially due to these efforts that Prohibition would be repealed some 13 years later. But still, there was grain left over. But while all this technology was helping people reach out and touch someone, other events were starting to bode badly for the whiskey men of America. The English were going through a bit of turmoil on their home turf at this same time. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, both John Ritchie and Elijah Craig were shipping whiskey on flatboats to New Orleans, and they probably werent the only ones. By the turn of the century, over 350,000 people had settled in Kentucky. In it, McDonald maintains that his actions in the Whiskey Ring were a direct result of instructions from Babcock, and since, according to McDonald, Babcock was widely regarded as being the Presidents chief advisor, he regarded any requests from Babcock as having emanated from the highest authority. Sylph, again according to McDonalds book--and we should take into consideration that he wrote the book to throw most of the blame for the Whiskey Ring scandal on others--was a woman with whom he had arranged a liaison for Babcock, not Grant. When whiskey is first distilled it is clear--it looks exactly like vodka. The ploy seems to have had the desired effect. Prohibition finally ended at 5:32 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, on December 5, 1933. This 100-proof bourbon (and rye) got its 9-year-old age statement back in 2020 after it was removed for a few years . There was, however, another whiskey scandal looming, later in the 1800s--this time it came from within the industry itself, and had a direct effect on which brands of whiskey are available to us today. Owsley Brown (Brown-Forman), Frank Thompson (Glenmore), and a group of other concerned distillers met with attorneys from the Wholesale Liquor Dealers Association in Washington, D.C. Their aim was to unite the entire distilled spirits industry, write a code of conduct (it was actually drafted by Harris William of the Department of Agriculture) that would be acceptable to all, and convince everyone to sign it. According to most reports, Sylph was a woman said to have had an extra-marital affair with Grant, and she was a woman who had pestered him ever since. However, European Vitis vinifera grapevines didnt fare well on the East Coast. As the U.S. population grew and the 1800's progressed, we see a steady rise in the consumption of American distilled spirits. But, in the late 1860s the use of hinged metal molds made it easier to make glass bottles in greater numbers and at far more reasonable prices. And many of the soldiers who had been dispatched to Pennsylvania, on hearing about the Bluegrass States fertile soil and sweet limestone water that were perfect for corn-growing and whiskey-making, decided to flee the army and settle in Kentucky. Nobody stopped making bourbon, rye, or Tennessee whiskey simply because sales werent as good as expected; they dealt with the situation as best they could. Though they were producing whiskey, its quality had to have been questionable. It was too much for the industry to bear. The Brown family (Old Forester Bourbon) settled in Kentucky in 1792. Further amendments to the law made it possible to actually distill whiskey (during distilling holidays) that would be used for medicinal purposes. Like the first beers and wines, the first liquors made here used a variety of ingredients--berries, plums, potatoes, apples, carrots, and grain--anything that had the power to attract yeast and then ferment. Its body gets bigger, its soul develops character, and the sharp, childish bite of *young, raw whiskey become deep, somber declarations of maturity. Instead, they would sell the entire batch of spirits and the resultant whiskey, although it wouldnt make you blind, was a far cry from the pure, bold red liquor that the whiskey men had fought for at the turn of the century. It wasnt politically correct, it wasnt good for the body, and it was no longer a laughing matter. Skirmishes continued between whiskey-makers and the tax collectors and resulted in a few revenue agents being tarred and feathered and others terrorized into handing over their excise books to the delinquent taxpayers, but the revolt didnt really come to a head until 1794. Of course, settlers in the islands made their own rum, and that, too, was exported to the American Colonies, ready for immediate consumption. But Washington had his reasons, and although he was himself a distiller, he listened to Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, who proposed that the newly formed country should pay off its debts from the Revolutionary War. Washington knew all about distilling liquor. In 1867, she married a physician and alcoholic, Dr. Charles Gloyd, and was widowed when her husband, despite her remonstrations to the contrary, reaped the rewards of drinking too much. Another bone of contention on the Craig theory is the fact that since Craig never actually lived in Bourbon County (he was based slightly to the west of the county border), some people claim that this discredits him completely from ever having made a whiskey known as bourbon. The first thing you need to know is that this place only offers Tennessee rye whiskey drinks, all are 80 proof, hence the name, and are infused with real ingredients for additional flavor. In the late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, he wanted to sell it as quickly as possible. Corn, an indigenous grain, was also cultivated, and although the immigrants werent used to using it to make whiskey, it was gradually introduced to the process in small quantities. The early setters brought quite a supply of ale and spirits with them from England, but when their supplies dwindled, they had no choice but to brew their own beer, using whatever ingredients were close at hand. 1, O.K. One report states that General James Wilkinson built a distillery at Harrodsburg, the earliest permanent settlement in Kentucky (1774), but that report is probably untrue since there is no record of Wilkinson being in the area until about 10 years later. During the first decades of the new century, science began to play a part in the manufacture of whiskey--due to a large extent to James Crows sour-mash methods. And these tables were not present only in the posh bars, working-class saloons offered similar meals, but the fare on their tables--pickled eggs, frankfurters, stews, and thick, hearty soups--was not nearly as sumptuous as that at the Waldorf. During Prohibition, not only did heady flavor of juniper help disguise just how poorly the liquor had been made, it also gave the drinking public what they wanted--a highly flavored spirit. . Just as their counterparts in Scotland had done, the American producers of blended whiskeys argued that their products were purer than straight whiskeys since they contained fewer impurities. They might have been making a decent living, but many, indeed, most transactions at that time were conducted by barter. In December of that year the Distilled Spirits Institute (DSI) was formed in the New York offices of the Schenley Products Company. Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. . The most avid of these budding aficionadas and aficionados worked at learning about their drinks. The choice was simple: Let it mold and rot, or change its form as the ancient alchemists did and produce the water of life. (The word whisky is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [WEEZ-ga-bochh] meaning water of life. If you say the word quickly enough--or with a substantial quantity of whiskey in your system--it becomes, with a little shortening, WEEZ-ga, a word that was Anglicized to become whisky.), Distilling grain gives farmers two distinct avenues for profit-making: The distillate, by virtue of having a high concentration of alcohol, can be stored almost indefinitely, and liquor is relatively easy to transport--much easier than huge sheaves of corn or rye. This date coincides nicely with George Garvin Browns 1870 decision to sell his Old Forester bourbon exclusively in sealed bottles. (In her spare time Nation published a newsletter called Hatchet and another known as Smashers Mail.). Class and Social Order. Not only did the geographical aspects of Kentucky make it a tough area to invade, if Washington had decided to pick on Kentuckians rather than Pennsylvanians, he would have run the risk that the state would up and leave the union and join up with the Spanish, who controlled the land west of Kentucky. Virginians and pioneers from North Carolina, on the other hand, usually made their way to what became the Bluegrass State through the Cumberland Gap--a route that took them through the Appalachian Mountains on the Wilderness Trail.. Meanwhile, during the late 1700s, the Scots-Irish, a huge group of immigrants from Northern Ireland began arriving in the United States. proof (50 percent alcohol.) Its a grand way to do business: Pop into the town center with a few quarts of whiskey, trade one to the local seamstress in return for a new dress for the missus, another to the fishmonger who will supply you with dinner for the next four Fridays, and when the landlord is passing by, maybe you can persuade him to take a gallon of your finest whiskey in lieu of a few months rent. But it wasnt until the following year that Carry Nation actually wielded the hatchet that became her trademark when she destroyed a saloon in Wichita. The bar opened in 1897 and closed its doors when Prohibition was enacted. (Although the Kentucky notes do advise that the process be repeated until the whiskey was pure.) Since Eaton is said to have noted that his Lincoln County Process took a long time, some historians have taken his words to mean that he was aging his whiskey as early as 1825. This page is part of a series Liquor in the 20th Century. And Grant was returned to office in 1872. Bonding helped the whiskey men a little since it meant that they didnt have to pay their taxes as soon as the spirit ran out of the still, but 12 months wasnt a very long grace period considering that whiskey under two years old isnt worth drinking, and it doesnt really gain much character until it has been in the wood for three to four years. The major players in what became known as the Whiskey Ring, were General Orville E. Babcock, Grants secretary; John A. McDonald, the regional superintendent of the Internal Revenue, headquartered in St. Louis; and Benjamin Helm Bristow, the man who initiated the investigation into the affair when he became Secretary of the Treasury in 1874. He claimed that the ringleaders had encouraged the spirit of opposition by misrepresentation of the laws calculated to render them odious, and had sought to deter those who might be so disposed from accepting offices through fear of public resentment and of injury to person and property, and to compel those who had accepted such offices by actual violence to surrender or forbear the execution of them. He went on to say that the distillers had been inflicting cruel and humiliating punishments upon private citizens for . But back when the governments excise tax was raised to $2 in 1865, the moonshiners of Kentucky and Tennessee were making white lightning in abundance and cashing in on the woes of the legitimate distillers. Back in 1850, both Old Pepper and Old Crow whiskeys were made at the same distillery. Luckily for the distillers, the FACA was controlled by Joseph Choate, a man who had been against Prohibition from the outset and who said that he intended to use as little external control as possible. FACA became the Federal Alcohol Administration in 1935, and the following year it issued updated classifications on all liquors. In Europe, the first temperance organization had come into being in Ireland in 1818 (later known as the Ulster Temperance Society), and similar organizations sprung up in Scotland, England, Norway, and Sweden in the first half of the nineteenth century. After watching people in Saghetti Westerns and Civil War Documentaries shoot whiskey like it was nothing, I was wondering about the strength of alcohol in the 19th century. All was by no means lost, however--good whiskey men never have given up that easily. 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